Never Leave a Brother Behind
by Lia76
Summary: After Dean's confronting Sam about his year off drives a wedge between the brothers, it soon becomes clear that Sam is hiding alot more about their time apart and Dean's return. Will someone else's unexpected return help or hinder the brothers' separate agendas? Spoiler Alert: Follows the events of the second episode of Season Eight.


Never Leave a Brother Behind

Chapter 1

"Would you mind handing me the remote, Sammy? Or are you too busy?" Dean asked from where he was lying on one of the double beds.

"No problem, Dean," Sam said with confusion before grabbing the device that was next to his laptop on the small table and tossing it to his brother. His return to searching for any leads on Kevin's location was short lived as Dean soon interrupted again.

"Could you also pass me the _TV Guide_?" Dean asked before sighing dramatically. "Never mind. Wouldn't want you to go to too much trouble for me."

It was Sam's turn to sigh as he closed the top of his laptop and turned toward his older brother.

"Do you have something you want to say to me?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. Will us talking now fit into _your_ schedule or should I wait for a more convenient time?" Dean exclaimed angrily as he stood up from the bed and turned toward his little brother.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sam shot back.

"You! _You_ are what I'm talking about!" Dean yelled. "I don't know where the hell your priorities are anymore!"

"I'm helping look for Kevin! What more do you want?" Sam replied defensively.

Dean shook his head and laughed a humorless chuckle.

"Do you hear yourself? What more do _I_ want? That's exactly it, isn't it? You looking for Kevin is the _last_ thing you want to do because you only care about getting back to shacking up with that chick!" Dean accused.

"Her name is Amelia!" Sam replied as he jumped up from his chair, his eyes now flashing with anger.

"Wow. Wow!" Dean said in disbelief. "How quick you are to defend _her._ This…this _girl_ who you knew for only a few months and quit hunting for? This girl who you…you chose over me? Your own freakin' _brother_!"

"I didn't choose her over you, Dean!" Sam asserted. "I thought you were dead-."

"Yeah, yeah. So you said. You _thought_ I was dead, but did you _know_ I was dead?" Dean asked through clenched teeth.

"Dean," Sam tried to interject.

"DID YOU?" Dean yelled with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sam said. "I don't know what else to say."

"You're _sorry_?" Dean repeated in disbelief. "I was fighting off death in purgatory around _every_ turn _every_ moment for a whole damn year AND YOU'RE SORRY AND DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY?!"

Sam clenched and unclenched his jaw, tears in his eyes now as well, but did not respond.

"Just what I thought. Hard to defend yourself when I lay it all out for you in black and white, huh? I mean, God, Sam! We've NEVER _not_ looked for each other!" Dean reminded him before shaking his head. " I mean, I could understand if you looked for me and had no luck. When you were in hell, I NEVER stopped trying to find a way to wrench you out. It never stopped eating away at me either, you being down there, suffering and alone! How did it _not_ bother you about me? Huh? HOW?!"

Sam's tears fell down his cheeks as he looked down, but he still did not respond. Infuriated by his brother's continued silence, Dean grabbed Sam's chin and roughly wrenched it up.

"I don't _know_ you anymore, Sammy. And if I don't know you anymore, I don't _trust_ you anymore. You don't have to wait until we find the prophet to cut out on me and hunting. You can go right now," Dean hissed as he glared into his little brother's tear filled eyes before letting go.

"What? Dean, no!" Sam finally implored. "That's _not_ what I want! We'll find Kevin together and-."

"You're getting EXACTLY what you want! And you know what? I'll make it even easier for you. _I'll_ go. And when I get back? You and your crap better be freakin' gone!" Dean hissed.

"Dean, please!" Sam pleaded. "Don't do this!"

"Then give me an answer that will make me stay!" Dean countered.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again a moment later.

A sudden hard punch to Sam's jaw was Dean's only parting response before walking over to the door and slamming it behind him. Dean paused just outside the closed door and angrily brushed away his tears with the back of his now throbbing hand. Cursing under his breath, he got into the Impala and turned the key. More tears began to fall and he let them come. A moment later he backed up, slammed on the gas and screeched out of the parking lot.

* * *

**_Three hours later..._**

Dean quietly entered the now dark and seemingly empty motel room, until he noticed a dark shape leaning up against the far wall.

"I told you to get lost!" Dean yelled as he rushed over to the body and roughly pinned it to the wall.

"Bring it on," a familiar female voice cooed. "The rougher the better."

Dean quickly pulled away and flicked the nearby light switch.

"Meg?" Dean asked in complete shock. "How the hell did you get out?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," the demon replied as she straightened her shirt and flashed the Winchester one of her usual demure smiles. "Hell of a feat, you escaping purgatory."

"What do you know about that?" Dean asked angrily as he quickly searched the room for any other unwanted guests.

"Not much. But you're certainly the talk of the town you know, you and your vampire bestie," Meg answered.

"I'm sure your return from hell has made the front page of the Demon Daily as well," Dean replied sarcastically.

"I've done it before by myself and most didn't even seem to know I was sent downstairs in the first place. Enough with the stalling. How did Sam do it?" she insisted.

"Sam had nothing to do with it," Dean replied with a clench of his jaw.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized sarcastically. "Touchy subject? Where is Paul Bunyan anyway?"

"Gone," Dean replied. "Why should you care?"

"Because I want answers!" Meg explained, her turn now to pin an unexpecting Dean to the wall. "Did Sam get me out of hell? Or did you?"

"Back off!" Dean yelled as he pushed her back and ripped his demon knife out from it's sheath on his belt.

"I deserve to know who I am now in debt to!" Meg yelled.

"Wasn't me, demon!" Dean replied angrily. "I was too busy dancing with the badies in purgatory to worry about pulling your butt out of the pit!"

"You're serious," Meg said in disbelief after a moment of studying his face.

"Yeah, I am," Dean replied more calmly now, lowering the knife to his side now. "Maybe Crowley simply booted you to make room for a new victim."

"No, he'd be happy to see me tortured in the pit forever," she dismissed as she began to pace the room as if lost in thought.

"Wasn't Sam either. He was apparently too busy to even pull _me_ out," Dean replied with disgust.

"So how _did_ you get out?" Meg asked suspiciously.

"The vampire...he knew a way to get humans out...a loophole," Dean replied honestly, not seeing any reason to lie to her at that moment, and gave her a quick rundown of the details of their deal.

"The _vampire _knew? Interesting. Anyway, thanks for the chat, short bus," Meg said with another smile before she walked out of the motel room.

Without even realizing he was doing it, Dean had his cell phone out and was texting Sam about Meg's sudden return. He stared for a moment at the unfinished message on the bright cell phone screen and clenched his jaw again. He deleted the message before hurling the phone against the wall.

* * *

**_Six days later..._**

"You're a hard man to find, Sammy boy," Meg said as she slid into the diner booth opposite of Sam. "Lucky for me you still have an affection for lousy diner food."

Sam looked at her in surprise as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Surprised to see me or just surprised that I found you? I think its the latter," Meg said as she took a french fry off of Sam's untouched plate. "After all, isn't it _you_ that I have to thank for my resurrection?"

"I...I don't know what you're talking about," Sam finally managed to mutter as he began to pull money out of his wallet to pay the bill.

Meg slammed his hand down hard against the table to make sure he knew this conversation was far from over.

"You're lying, Sam. Don't you think I'd know by now when you're lying? We have spent a lot of time together after all, some of those moments being _quite_ intimate," she said to indicate the time she possessed him. "Maybe you enjoyed our time together _so_ much that you couldn't bear life without me?"

Sam glared at her and she finally released his hand.

"Funny that Dean, who is also coincidentally out as well, was quick to dismiss that you had anything to do with _either_ of us being freed. Why is that, hmmm?" she said before taking another french fry.

"When did you see Dean? What did you tell him?" Sam asked angrily.

Meg smiled at his rise in anger before turning serious.

"What the hell kind of game are you playing here, Sam?" Meg asked instead of answering his questions. "What have you done?"

After a moment of studying her face, Sam sighed and ran a hand over his weary eyes.

"He can't know any of it..._nothing_," Sam hissed through clenched teeth.

Meg smiled again.

"Go on," she said as she pulled the plate of food towards her and settled into the booth seat.


End file.
